The Virgin in the Garden

«The Virgin in the Garden» — this is the first novel of the «Quartet of Frederica», considered to be the main work of the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Antonia Susan Byatt. The tetralogy was written over a quarter of a century, and its plot spans the same period, with the first two novels published before the Booker Prize-winning international bestseller «Possession», and the third and fourth after.

In «The Virgin in the Garden», contemporary comedy of manners and Elizabethan drama intersect unpredictably and resonate, as life imitates art. The Yorkshire family Potter prepares to celebrate the coronation of the new monarch — Elizabeth II, together with the whole empire. But the younger generation has their own concerns: Stephanie, weary of her father's authoritarianism, is getting ready to marry the local vicar; math prodigy Marcus is haunted by troubling visions; and for Frederica, desperately eager to dive into the big world, an attraction to a young playwright could be her ticket to freedom…

«"The Virgin in the Garden" — a contemporary epic akin to a skillfully woven, rich tapestry. Byatt's heroes pose the main questions of their time. Their voices are sincere, sometimes faltering, sometimes reaching astonishing beauty» (Entertainment Weekly).